USB technology has become quite common, and if you have a laptop, Mac, or PC, you've likely had to use, or could benefit from knowing how to use, a USB Flash Drive. These little data havens might appear fragile and tiny, but they are dependable and can hold a lot of information. Whether you have a laptop, PC, or a Mac, mastering a flash drive data transfer is soon to be no trouble at all.

Steps

Part 1

Copying Files for Transfer

1

Examine the connecting end of your flash drive. Notice how your flash drive has a rectangular block sticking out of it.[1] There will be a similar hole in your computer; this will be the USB port.

2

Locate the USB port on your computer. For desktop computers, you can usually find USB ports on either the front or the back of the PC. USB ports on your laptop computer will typically be found on the sides or in the back.

3

Insert the USB flash drive gently into your computer. Plug orientation matters, so if you are having difficulty, try turning the plug upside down and inserting it again.

4

Follow the prompts to open your flash drive. Most newer computers have an automatic interface that should ask you what you want to do. You should select the option that says "Open Folder to View Files," or a similar message.

In many cases a dialog box will pop up from your task bar in Windows, or a "Flash Drive" icon will appear on your desktop in MacOSX and Linux. Clicking these will also open your flash drive.

5

Open your flash drive with the file explorer as an alternative. If your computer does not have an autoplay function, or if another setting has interfered with the prompts for opening your flash drive, instead open the file explorer.[2]

6

Click and open the item labeled "Computer" in the left sidebar. Within this directory, you should find a section labeled "Devices with removable storage." If you have inserted the flash drive correctly, you should see it beneath this heading.

If you own a Mac, the Finder sidebar can expedite your search. Look under the "Removable Devices" header.

7

Use the "Computer" directory to select and open your flash drive. Windows computers can also use the "Start" menu to open the "Computer" directory. Newer versions of Windows might require you to click the "File Explorer" heading. If this is the case, simply click the heading and find "Computer" in the left sidebar.

You will find the flash drive below the label "Devices and Drives," "Devices with Removable Storage," or a similar heading. Leave this window open to later to transfer files to this location.

8

Find the files you want to transfer. Right click these files with your mouse to open a dropdown menu. In this menu, click the "Copy" option.

If you have a Mac, hold Ctrl when clicking to bring up the dropdown menu.

You can also "Cut" the files, which removes them from their original location and allows you to "Paste" them to a new location.

Larger files might trigger a pop up box indicating how long the file transfer will take. Smaller files appear almost instantaneously in your flash drive

9

Return to the open window displaying the contents of your flash drive. Right click the empty space in the lower right hand quadrant of your flash drive folder and select "Paste."

For Mac users, hold Ctrl and click to bring up the same menu. Find the "Paste" option in the dropdown menu and select it.

10

Safely remove your flash drive. Not doing this can corrupt data or ruin a perfectly good flash drive.[3] You can safely remove the drive by right clicking its icon on the desktop or system tray, and selecting the option that says "Safely Remove Hardware" or "Eject" from the menu.

Mac users can perform the same functions by holding Ctrl and clicking.

11

Open the file explorer and select "Computer" from the left sidebar if you are unable to find the icon. Here you should find your flash drive under the "Devices and removable storage" header. Right click the icon or Ctrl and click for Mac computers and select either "Eject" or "Safely Remove."

Wait until you see the "it's safe to remove this hardware" message. Removing your flash drive before this can damage your flash drive or corrupt your files. Once you see this, you can physically disconnect the USB drive from your computer.

12

Remove your flash drive. Firmly take the flash drive in hand and smoothly remove the flash drive with steady, moderate pressure. There should be some resistance; this is natural.

Part 2

Completing the Transfer

1

Locate the USB port for the computer to which you will be transferring files. Remember to look for the rectangular block inside the slot of your USB port; this is the key feature that allows for USB connections.

2

Insert your flash drive. Do this in the same fashion as described in the section on copying files to your flash drive.

3

Select and open your flash drive. Do this by following the same procedure you used on your own computer. You should see your desired files still inside the flash drive directory.

4

Highlight the desired files. Again, right click the highlighted files, or control click for Macs, and select "Copy" from the dropdown menu.

5

Paste your files to the desktop of the target computer. You can do this easily by right clicking an empty part of your desktop and selecting "Paste" from the menu. Mac users can perform the same sequence using Ctrl and clicking.

Alternatively, you can drag and drop the files or folders from the USB drive straight into your desired folder.

6

Check and make sure the files have appeared in the new location on the desktop. Some computers might automatically alphabetize your desktop icons, so you should check your desktop carefully.

7

Safely remove your flash drive. Right click or control click its icon on the desktop or in the system tray, and select the option from the dropdown menu that says, "Safely Remove Hardware" or "Eject." Once you receive the "it's safe to remove this hardware" message, you can physically disconnect the USB drive from your computer.

Community Q&A

I uploaded data from my flash drive and got the message "Your data was sent successfully". But I can't find the data: it isn't in my downloads. Where was it sent to on my computer, or was it sent to the vendor?

wikiHow Contributor

If you uploaded it to a website, the files were most likely sent to the vendor. If you cannot retrieve your data from your flash drive, check with the vendor to retrieve the file(s).

Can I copy Quicken onto a USB flash drive, then use the flash drive to put the data onto another computer?

wikiHow Contributor

You can. Open Quicken, and under file, there should be an option to backup the data. Insert your USB drive and choose that for the backup location. To restore, use the reverse procedure to put it onto the new computer. Note: some versions may have the backup utility under "tools."

Plug it in, open the flash drive (explorer.exe, this pc, devices and drives) and select all the files you want moved (either using your mouse and dragging, with shift+click or with ctrl+click). Then do ctrl+c, alternatively right click and press copy, then go to your desired destination and ctrl+v or right click and press paste.

If I store all my files and folders on my Windows 7 PC to flash drives, will they transfer easily to a new Windows 10 PC?

wikiHow Contributor

They will! All files and folders transferred to other devices will be readable, but don't expect to get programs transferred. Transferring software is a little more difficult, although possible. All of your pictures, videos, music, documents, and more will be able to be transferred.